Is Marine Pure effective at reducing nitrates? We learn some valuable lessons. | BRStv Investigates

[jason2459]

Please Please Please add some testing of aluminum into your new test!

I have seen enough reports of aluminum leaching from these products that there is NO WAY I would use them unless this is proven not to be true! Randy has already shown that high levels of aluminum will negatively effect corals. I am currently using sintered glass which has less surface area but safer in my opinion.


Please Please Please add some testing of aluminum into your new test!

Randy has shown one form of Al has caused problems at high levels. We do not know what form of Al leaches but it does.

Please read through the thread I linked as it has many details.

 

[Roggio]

Also, it's likely Marinepure will be coated depending on cure time. The aluminum test should probably be a separate one.

 

[revhtree]

Great stuff as usual! Thanks for taking the time, effort and money to INVESTIGATE!

 

[Brew12]

Fantastic research but I see one major issue and I don't know how you would account for it.

I believe that flow will be the single biggest factor on marine pure reducing nitrates. If you put a block of marine pure between baffles so that water must flow through it you will not have any anaerobic zones so you will have no nitrate reduction.
If you put it in a very low flow section of your sump you will get much more nitrate reduction and much less ammonia/nitrite reduction.

With all of the different possibilities I'm not sure how you would produce repeatable results that would be easily used by hobbyists.

 

[dangros]

I second the Al test request

 

[siggy]

What they said

 

[Ryanbrs]

I second the Al test request

I saved some water from each tank and the triton tests arrived Friday. Hopefully we will see in a few weeks

 

[MartinWaite]

MarinePure has been proven not to leach aluminium. In most cases it has been found to be food, heaters or pumps that are doing the leaching.
The way MarinePure is manufactured makes it inert so how can something that is inert leach. There was/ is some counterfeit stuff which could possibly be the culprit.

 

[schooncw]

As for the Aluminum leaching. Yes, yes it does.

I would read through this thread for more details
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-much-aluminum-will-it-leach-lets-guess.247034/

Hey guys!

The time has come to reveal the results of the Marine Pure test! As the thread title alludes to, we ran into some speed bumps during this test, but we still walked away with some eye opening results.


Let us know what you think!

 

[Pivitol]

BRS you guys ROCK!! Thank you for all the videos, tests and everything you guys do, I appreciate all you guys do!!

 

[schooncw]

So, I have a relatively new 120, heavily stocked and with a massive amount of live rock, with some very large pieces. I put a Brightwell Xport N03 dimpled brick in my sump, at the bottom, at the end of February. I did NOT seed the brick and I have not seen any positive results re nitrate reduction. I would think that 12 weeks or so, would have been sufficient time to cultivate nitrate gobbling bacteria but that has not been the case.
It is a different animal than the Marinepure-I believe better- and find it baffling that it has not worked yet; perhaps it needs more time? Am tempted to get another brick and this time, seed it.

 

[schooncw]

I personally believe marine pure reduces nitrates because marine pure is all I have in my system, been over a year now, and I have had zero nitrates since then. And phosphates. Prior to that I had too much nutrients. I actually think it does WAY too good of a job because I have tried everything except for dosing nitrates and phosphates to get them up. More than doubling the amount of food I feed, adding a ton of fish, etc.. No matter what i do I can't raise it.

I will say I am a firm believer that the marine pure does leach aluminum. Every time i have Triton test my water aluminum is elevated.

Where do you have the marinepure placed? Sump?

 

[Cyricdark]

I think the Triton tests are reading tiny particles of the aluminosilicate that it's made of as aluminum, it's well known that they can't differentiate between different aluminum compounds, whatever it is, it can't be the toxic form of aluminum cause my leathers are doing great since adding it, and marinepure is used in several coral farms that also grow leather corals, if it was in any way toxic we'd be seeing all kinds of " it wiped out my tank threads! " And I've not seen one of those yet

 

[jason2459]

It's been rather inclusive if there's no negative reactions. Seems fine for most people. And those that have seen negative reactions its not tank crash extreme. Just because there's not mass genocide doesn't mean there's not a negative reaction at some level.

 

[Cyricdark]

It's been rather inclusive if there's no negative reactions. Seems fine for most people. And those that have seen negative reactions its not tank crash extreme. Just because there's not mass genocide doesn't mean there's not a negative reaction at some level.

There's lots of people out there running a large number of the blocks in a small water volume as only filtration, if they were leaching anything harmful those people would have lost all their leather type corals, which in turn will often cause nitrates to skyrocket, etc wiping out sps, lps etc. I've not seen any posts like that, the most consequence I've read is your own of a leather that gets ticked off for day or two and a sponge that gets a hole in it when you add the block, which is probably just the pH drop you also reported, I know I've got a toadstool leather that anything will make it mad, from a pH swing, to just bumping into it when I'm working in the tank. The marinepure (not the blocks but the spheres) has been around for years, if it had any real negative effects it would be common knowledge on all the forums by now. Until someone decides to spend the money to get a real aluminum test done that can differentiate between all the different types can prove otherwise I'll have to go with the evidence in my own tank and many, many others which says whatever it leaches, if anything, is inert. Further supporting my theory is the fact that the Triton tests stop showing additional aluminum after it's been in the tank a few months which would make sense if all we're seeing is tiny particles of aluminosilicate escaping from vast pore network they contain.

 

[EZ Electric]

Love to see Marine pure vs Brightwell and see if either block gets better results.

Also think hey should add a sand bend and see what a sand bed does compared to blocks and balls and nothing.

I use both and feel brightwell is better made only because it doesn't fall apart so easily.

I also personally like the marine pure balls over the blocks they keep shape and stay together way better than the block.

If u use either in high flow they break down.

 

[melypr1985]

@MrBeast this is what I was talking about.

 

[jason2459]

There's lots of people out there running a large number of the blocks in a small water volume as only filtration, if they were leaching anything harmful those people would have lost all their leather type corals, which in turn will often cause nitrates to skyrocket, etc wiping out sps, lps etc. I've not seen any posts like that, the most consequence I've read is your own of a leather that gets ****** off for day or two and a sponge that gets a hole in it when you add the block, which is probably just the pH drop you also reported, I know I've got a toadstool leather that anything will make it mad, from a pH swing, to just bumping into it when I'm working in the tank. The marinepure (not the blocks but the spheres) has been around for years, if it had any real negative effects it would be common knowledge on all the forums by now. Until someone decides to spend the money to get a real aluminum test done that can differentiate between all the different types can prove otherwise I'll have to go with the evidence in my own tank and many, many others which says whatever it leaches, if anything, is inert. Further supporting my theory is the fact that the Triton tests stop showing additional aluminum after it's been in the tank a few months which would make sense if all we're seeing is tiny particles of aluminosilicate escaping from vast pore network they contain.

Then you haven't read or choosing to ignore the thread or many other posts not just in that thread of people mentioning negative reactions of various levels. I also have new data and information yet to be shared but coming to a point that I can and it so far lines up well with Randy's observations as well.

I have been keeping track of many parameters and visual to microscopic reactions. I can only tell you or post what I have seen or noticed for certain. If that upsets you there is nothing I can do about that. I have upset many people because of that thread and have received a lot of negative PMs from it.

And to reiterate I find them an excellent media to provide a lot of surface area.

 

[Cyricdark]

Then you haven't read or choosing to ignore the thread or many other posts not just in that thread of people mentioning negative reactions of various levels. I also have new data and information yet to be shared but coming to a point that I can and it so far lines up well with Randy's observations as well.

I have been keeping track of many parameters and visual to microscopic reactions. I can only tell you or post what I have seen or noticed for certain. If that upsets you there is nothing I can do about that. I have upset many people because of that thread and have received a lot of negative PMs from it.

And to reiterate I find them an excellent media to provide a lot of surface area.

I read for hours and hours every thread I could find and never saw anything that would lead me to believe they Leach toxic aluminum, the negative reactions you mentioned were very anecdotal and typically coincided with other changes besides just adding marinepure to a system, and were never in the scale of disastrous that we would see if they leached something toxic. Have I read every thread .. no of course not the internet's a big place. I'm not mad, why would I be? I did my research before I bought the product and now that I have it it seems my research was sound, everything is looking great and nitrates are dropping. When I set up my 300 gallon i can now have a much smaller sump size than my original plans which is awesome. I do think think the Triton testing with regards to aluminum content are not discerning enough for any of these at home experiments to be remotely valid, which is the entire basis of your claims that it leaches aluminum.

 

[jason2459]

Again, I have not once said to not use them. Quite the opposite. Do you believe I am against them?

I have, as far as I know, have been pretty clear about what I know and do not know.

Do they leach Al? Yes, I very much believe they do.

Are they harmful? I do not exactly know. They seem to irritate some corals and I am not the only one to notice. I do not believe it's to an extent to be worried about by most people.

For those that have noticed some kind of reaction I'm hoping to have a very easy fix. GFO. It is known to bind some metals like Cu. Eshan of Triton has stated to switch between using Al base binders with GFO to reduce Al. Which Randy gas shown Al based binders to release Al and shown it to irritate some corals.

Those levels were also quite high. More to be posted about that in the thread started and linked to.